Student Named New Jersey's Top Mixologist by New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association

By: Alicia Cook     alicia_cook@bloomfield.edu          Picture: NJ.com 

Bloomfield College student, Jonathan Echavarria, was named New Jersey’s Mixologist of the Year. Not even 21 years old yet, Echavarria could not sample his own winning cocktail, cleverly named the Gaur-den State Flip.

Like many students at the College, Echavarria balances both school and work. He bartends at Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen in Morristown, and beat out 20 other bartenders at New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association's (NJRHA) "Mixologist of the Year" Competition earlier this month.

The Morristown native will graduate next month with a Bachelor's Degree in Game Design. For his thesis project, Echavarria created a strategic board game called "Treehoppers."

Echavarria plans on being a game designer full-time following graduation, while continuing to bartend at night.

Congratulations, Jonathan!